In railway vehicles, it is known that a train is equipped with an articulated truck between two cars thereof in view of cost reduction, and improved running stability for comfortable ride-in, etc. As shown in FIG. 8, in a case where the train (train set) is constituted by mounting an articulated truck 101 between a car 102 and a car 103, the articulated truck 101 is positioned in a space under the cars. Wires 104 connecting the cars 102 and 103 cannot sag down under a restriction of a space because of the presence of the articulated truck 101. For this reason, in general, car body ends of the cars are recessed to form spaces (concave portions) 102a and 103a, and the wires 104 are provided between them above the articulated truck 101.
In the case of a train which is not equipped with the above articulated truck, crossovers of railway cars sag down on rail side between connecting portions formed at end portions of car bodies of cars coupled by couplers (for example, see Japanese Utility Model Application Publication Hei. No. 6-37045).
In the former construction, since the car body ends are recessed to form the spaces (concave portions) 102a and 103a, an effective space within a passenger's cabin is reduced and a structure of the car body becomes intricate. In the construction in which the wires are provided above the articulated truck 101, a car body structure becomes intricate with an increase in the number of components, and a center of gravity of the car body is located higher than that of the train which is not equipped with the articulated truck. This is disadvantageous to the running stability and is undesirable to car performance.
In the latter construction, it is necessary to provide a protecting plate for protecting the crossovers connecting the connecting portions of the railway vehicle under the crossovers in order to inhibit damage to the crossovers.
In the case of the train equipped with the articulated truck, the same problem arises, when pipes (e.g., air pipes) for control driving or braking are provided between the cars, in addition to the wires.